Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $85.00 target price on the stock.

APLS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. HC Wainwright cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $72.63.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.01. 1,885,232 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,113. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.86 and a 12 month high of $73.80. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 3.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.60.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 138.32% and a negative net margin of 52.99%. The firm had revenue of $199.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.02) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 110.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.24, for a total value of $1,451,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,375,801.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $2,483,000. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $10,119,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).